WSOP – Are you Game?

The World Series of Poker was first started by Benny Binion in 1970. Binion wanted to host a tournament in the United States of America to find out who was the best poker player. So he organised the WSOP and invited some of the best poker played in the United States to come and participate in this tournament which was going to be played in public. Each of the contestants put in $10,000 and pitted their poker playing skills against each other. The first year the participating players had decided to nominate the winner through a vote. It was the legendary Johnny Moss who got all the votes as the best overall player and was the first champion.

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The first WSOP was held at the Binions Horseshoe in Las Vegas – Nevada. The WSOP was again conducted in 1971 and it was Johnny Moss who again walked away with the prize. It wasn’t very soon before the news began to spread about the WSOP and the prize money that was up for grabs. Every year it the tournament began to grow bigger and bigger and draw participants from old corners of the world. It was only natural the prize money also grew with the number of participants.

In 1972 the WSOP had only 8 participants and total prize money of $80,000 but by 2004 the WSOP was carrying total prize money of $ 5,000,000 and had 2,576 participants. However, it was the famous victory of Chris Moneymakers in 2003 that set the poker world on fire. His entry free into the tournament was made through his winnings in online poker and he managed to win the grand prize of $ 2,500,500. His victory was broadcasted all over the world and this increased the popularity of the WSOP to no end.

Today there are more than 34 events being conducted in the World Series of Poker. The series has gained a huge international audience and is often broadcasted on some of the leading networks throughout the world. Winners of these events are given a very special golden bracelet and this is one of the most coveted prices in the world of poker.

To those poker players out there who want to enter the competition and see if they can win the jackpot all you have to do is register. You can try any one of the popular search engines and type in World Series of Poker. You will be taken to the website where you can find information about past tournaments, the prize money that they carried and the top winners. You can also sign up and register for upcoming tournaments. You never know, you might be the next Jamie Gold, David Reese or Justin Scott. If you’re someone who likes to take chances in life, then this tournament is for you!